2005
2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (dominical letter B), the 2005th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 5th year of the 3rd millennium, the 5th year of the 21st century, and the 6th year of the 2000s decade. 2005 was designated as: *The Year of the Volunteer by the UK government *The World Year of Physics by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics[1] *The International Year of the Eucharist in Catholicism *The Year of Cork City, Ireland, as European Capital of Culture *The Year of the Veteran in Canada *The Year of Discovery[citation needed] *International Year for Sport and Physical Education *International Year of Microcredit The year 2005 was the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995–2005). Events January *January 4 – Gunmen assassinate the Governor of Baghdad, Ali al-Haidari.[2] *January 5 – Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System, is identified by a team led by Michael E. Brownusing images originally taken on October 21, 2003, at the Palomar Observatory. *January 9 **The same storm, which pounded the U.S. earlier in the month, hits England, Scandinavia and the Baltic states, leaving 13 dead with widespread flooding and power cuts.[3] **Mahmoud Abbas is elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as President of the Palestinian National Authority. *January 12 – Deep Impact is launched from Cape Canaveral by a Delta II rocket.[4] *January 14 – The Huygens probe lands on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.[5] *January 20- George W Bush is inaugurated for his second term. *January 25 – The Mandher Devi temple stampede during a religious pilgrimage in India kills at least 250.[6] *January 30 – The first free Parliamentary elections in Iraq since 1958 take place.[7] February *February 9 – An ETA car bomb injures at least 40 people at a conference centre in Madrid.[8] *February 10 **North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.[9] **Saudi Arabia holds its first ever municipal elections, in which only male citizens are allowed to vote.[10] *February 14 **Former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafic Hariri is killed in Beirut after an assassination attempt by suicide bombing; it also kills at least 16 other people and injures 120 others.[11] **YouTube, the most popular video sharing website, is founded. **59 people are killed and 200 injured after a fire breaks out in a mosque in Tehran, Iran.[12] *February 16 – The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.[13] *February 19 – Suicide bombers kill more than 30 people in Iraq as Shia Muslims mark Ashura, their holiest day.[14] *February 22 – More than 500 people are killed and over 1,000 injured, after entire villages are flattened in anearthquake (6.4 on the Richter scale) in the Zarand region of Kerman province in southern Iran.[15] *February 26 – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak asks Parliament to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005.[16] March *March 1 – Tabaré Vázquez is sworn in as the first President of Uruguay belonging to a leftist party. *March 3 **Millionaire Steve Fossett breaks a world record by completing the fastest non-stop, non-refueled, solo flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.[17] **Four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers are gunned down in Mayerthorpe, Alberta, Canada. It is deadliest day in Canadian law enforcement in over 120 years.[18] *March 4 – The car of released Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is fired on by U.S. soldiers in Iraq, causing the death of 1 passenger and injuring 2 more.[19] *March 8 – The Pakistan Army opens fire on insurgents in Balochistan, in the first armed uprising since GeneralRahimuddin Khan's stabilization of the province in 1978. *March 14 **The People's Republic of China ratifies an anti-secession law, aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence.[20] **800,000 people gather for an opposition rally in Beirut, a month after the death of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. It is the largest rally in Lebanon's history.[21] *March 19 – A time bomb explodes in a Muslim shrine in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 29 people and wounding 40.[22] *March 23 – An explosion takes place at one of BP's largest oil refineries in Texas City, killing 15 and injuring more than 170. *March 24 – The Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan reaches its climax with the overthrow of president Askar Akayev.[23] *March 26 – The Taiwanese government calls on 1 million Taiwanese to demonstrate in Taipei, in opposition to theAnti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China. Between 200,000 and 300,000 attend the walk.[24] April *April 2 – Pope John Paul II dies; over 4 million people travel to the Vatican to mourn him.[25][26][27] *April 8 – A referendum is held in Curaçao on independence vs. integration with the Netherlands.[28] *April 9 **Tens of thousands of demonstrators, many of them supporters of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, march throughBaghdad denouncing the U.S. occupation of Iraq, 2 years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and rally in the square where his statue was toppled in 2003.[29] **Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla Parker Bowles: The Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall. Camilla acquires her title The Duchess of Cornwall. *April 17 – Twelve holidaymakers are killed in southern Switzerland when a bus carrying 27 people plunges 656 feet (200 m) into a ravine.[30] *April 18 – Five people die in ethnic clashes in Iran's south-west Khuzestan Province.[31] *April 19 – Pope Benedict XVI succeeds Pope John Paul II, becoming the 265th pope.[32][33] *April 20 – An earthquake (5.8 on the Richter scale) hits Fukuoka and Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, injuring 56.[34] *April 23 – YouTube is launched: the first video is uploaded at 20:27 (8:27 pm). *April 25 – Amagasaki rail crash: A passenger train derails in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, killing 107 people and injuring another 562.[35] *April 26 – Facing international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country.[36] *April 27 – The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse.[37] May *May 4 – In one of the largest insurgent attacks in Iraq, at least 60 people are killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing at a Kurdish police recruitment center in Erbil, northern Iraq.[38] *May 13 – Andijan massacre: Uzbek Interior Ministry and National Security Service troops kill up to 700 during protests in eastern Uzbekistan over the trials of 23 accused Islamic extremists. President Islam Karimov defends the act.[39] *May 15 – A passenger ferry capsizes and sinks in strong winds in the Bura Gauranga River in Bangladesh, leaving 200 people missing.[40] *May 17 – Kuwaiti women are re-granted the right to vote.[41] *May 21 – Kingda Ka opens at Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in Jackson, New Jersey as the world's tallest and (at the time) fastest roller coaster. *May 31 – Watergate scandal: Deep Throat's identity is revealed by Vanity Fair to be former FBI Associate Director Mark Felt after retiring on 22 June 1973. June *June 21 – A Volna booster rocket carrying the first light sail spacecraft (a joint Russian-United States project) fails 83 seconds after its launch, destroying the spacecraft.[42] *June 28 – Three U.S. Navy SEALs, 16 American Special Operations Forces soldiers, and an unknown number of Taliban insurgents are killed during Operation Red Wings, a failed counter-insurgent mission in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. *June 30 – The Spanish Parliament votes by a margin of 187 votes to 147 to legalize same-sex marriage in Spain, becoming the fourth country to do so.[43] July *July 2 – Live 8, a set of 10 simultaneous concerts, takes place throughout the world, raising interest in the Make Poverty History campaign.[44] *July 4 **NASA's "Copper bullet" from the Deep Impact spacecraft hits Comet Tempel 1, creating a crater for scientific studies.[45] **Violent anti-G8 demonstrations occur in Gleneagles, Scotland. *July 6 **The European Parliament rejects the Proposed directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in its second reading in the codecision procedure.[46] **The International Olympic Committee awards the 2012 Summer Olympics to London.[47] *July 7 – Four terror attacks (3 on the London Underground and 1 on a bus) rock the transport network in London, killing 52 (not including the 4 bombers) and injuring over 700.[48] *July 12 – Terrorists kill 5 people and wound 90 in a crowded mall in Netanya, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for the attack.[49] *July 23 – A series of blasts hits a resort town in Egypt.[50] *July 26 – Mumbai, India receives 99.5 cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, bringing the city to a halt for over 2 days. *July 28 – The Provisional IRA issues a statement formally ordering an end to the armed campaign it has pursued since 1969, and ordering all its units to dump their arms.[51] August *August 2 – Air France Flight 358 overruns Runway 24L at Toronto Pearson International Airport. *August 6 – Tuninter Flight 1153 is ditched due to engine failure; 16 are killed. *August 13 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is launched. *August 14 – Helios Airways Flight 522 crashes near the town of Grammatiko in Greece, killing 121 people. Observations from fighter jet aircraft indicate a decompression problem. *August 16 – West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes into a mountain in Venezuela, killing 152 passengers. *August 18 – Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China–Russia military exercise, begins its 8-day training on the Shandong Peninsula. *August 22 – A 4.1 kilograms (9.0 lb) meteorite crashes into the Dotito area of Zambezi Escarpment in Zimbabwe, leaving a 150 millimeters (5.9 in) crater. *August 23 – Israel's unilateral disengagement from 25 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank ends. *August 29 – Hurricane Katrina makes landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast, causing severe damage. At least 1,836 die in the aftermath. *August 31 – The 2005 Al-Aaimmah bridge stampede in Baghdad kills several hundred civilians. September *September 2 – Protesters and Israeli forces clash in Bil'in. *September 11 – Japan general election, 2005: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the Liberal Democratic Party are returned to power. *September 12 – Hong Kong Disneyland Resort in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong opens. *September 18 – Afghan parliamentary election: Former Northern Alliance warlords and their followers claim victory. *September 19 – North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and cooperation. *September 26 – U.S. Army Reservist Lynndie England is convicted by a military jury on 6 of 7 counts, in connection with the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. *September 30 – Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. October *October 1 **The 2005 Bali bombings kill 26 people and injure more than 100. **The world's largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is formed by the merger of 2 Japanese banking conglomerates. **An Australian photojournalist in Afghanistan, Stephen Dupont, films U.S. soldiers burning 2 dead Taliban militias' bodies. *October 8 – The 2005 Kashmir earthquake kills about 80,000 people. *October 12 – The second manned Chinese spacecraft, Shenzhou 6, is launched, carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng for 5 days in orbit. *October 15 **The referendum on the new proposed Iraqi constitution is held. **The Qinghai–Tibet Railway is completed. *October 19 – The Trial of Saddam Hussein begins. *October 27 – The 2005 French riots begin after 2 young immigrants die in Clichy-sous-Bois, while hiding from the police. *October 29 – At least 61 people are killed and many others wounded in 3 powerful blasts in the Indian capital, Delhi (see 2005 Delhi bombings). November *November 2 – The Spanish Congress of Deputies approves the admission to formality of the new Catalan Statute of Autonomy with the support of all the groups except the People's Party (PP), which the same day files an objection of unconstitutionality. *November 3 – Chicken Little, the first computer animated film made by Walt Disney Pictures premiers in theaters. *November 4 – The U.S. and Uruguay governments sign a Bilateral investment treaty. *November 9 – 2005 Amman bombings: At least 50 people are killed and more than 120 injured in a series of coordinated suicide bombings in Amman, Jordan. *November 13 – Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year-old British man, is reported as the first person proven to have been 'cured' of HIV. *November 22 – Angela Merkel assumes office as the first female Chancellor of Germany. *November 28–December 9 – The United Nations Climate Change conference is held in Montreal. *November 30 – Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplant. December *December 6 – An Iranian C-130 Hercules airplane crashes into a ten-storey building in a civilian area of Tehran, the capital of Iran, killing all 94 people aboard and 34 residents of the building (128 total). *December 7 – The European Union TLD .eu is launched, and replaces .eu.int. Initially this will be only for business purposes. From 7 April 2006 onwards, EU citizens can also register .eu domains. *December 11 – The 2005 Cronulla riots occur in Sydney, Australia, involving up to 5,000 youths. *December 12 – Scientists announce that they have created mice with small amounts of human brain cells in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders. *December 14 – Shakidor Dam fails in Pakistan due to heavy rain. *December 16 – The 43rd Mersenne prime is found. *December 18 – The Chadian Civil War (2005–10) begins. *December 20 – Aleksandër Moisiu University is founded in Durrës, Albania. *December 23 – Chad declares war on Sudan, following a December 18 attack on Adre, which left about 100 people dead. *December 31 – Another second is added, 23:59:60, called a leap second, to end the year 2005. The last time this occurred was on June 30, 1998. World population Births *June 26 – Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, daughter of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange *July 25 – Pierce Gagnon, American child actor *October 15 – Prince Christian of Denmark, son of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark and his wife Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark *October 31 – Infanta Leonor of Spain, daughter of Felipe, Prince of Asturias and his wife Letizia *December 3 – Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway, grandson of King Harald V of Norway Deaths January Shirley ChisholmVirginia MayoJohnny Carson*January 1 **Shirley Chisholm, African-American politician (b. 1924) **Eugene J. Martin, American artist (b. 1938) *January 2 – John Ziman, English-New Zealand physicist (b. 1925) *January 4 **Guy Davenport, American author, artist, and scholar (b. 1927) **Robert Heilbroner, American writer (b. 1919) *January 7 – Pierre Daninos, French writer and humorist (b. 1913) *January 10 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1927) *January 12 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932) *January 15 – Victoria de los Ángeles, Spanish Catalan soprano (b. 1923) *January 17 **Virginia Mayo, American actress (b. 1920) **Zhao Ziyang, Chinese premier (b. 1919) *January 19 **Bill Andersen, New Zealand trade union leader (b. 1924) **Anita Kulcsár, Hungarian handball player (b. 1976) *January 20 – Per Borten, Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913) *January 21 **Theun de Vries, Dutch writer (b. 1907) **Adrianne Leigh Reynolds, American murder victim (b. 1988) *January 23 – Johnny Carson, American television host (b. 1925) *January 25 – Philip Johnson, American architect (b. 1906) February Max SchmelingGnassingbé EyadémaRafik Hariri*February 1 – John Vernon, Canadian Actor (b.1932) *February 2 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (b.1905) *February 3 – Zurab Zhvania, Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1963) *February 5 – Gnassingbé Eyadéma, President of Togo (b. 1935) *February 6 – Merle Kilgore, American singer and songwriter (b. 1934) *February 10 – Arthur Miller, American playwright (b. 1915) *February 13 – Lúcia Santos, Visionary to the Marian apparitions at Fátima (b. 1907) a Discalced Carmelite nun *February 14 – Rafic Hariri, Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1944) *February 17 **Narriman Sadek, Queen of Egypt (b. 1934) **Omar Sívori, Argentinian footballer (b. 1935) *February 20 **Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1944) **Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist (b. 1937) *February 22 – Simone Simon, French actress (b. 1910) *February 25 – Peter Benenson, British lawyer and founder of Amnesty International (b. 1921) March Hans BetheJames Callaghan*March 3 – Rinus Michels, Dutch soccer player and coach (b. 1928) *March 6 **Hans Bethe, German-American physicist (b. 1906) **Teresa Wright, American actress (b. 1918) **Tommy Vance, British radio disc jockey (b. 1941) *March 9 **Jeanette Schmid, German-born professional whistler (b. 1924) **Chris LeDoux, American rodeo performer and singer (b. 1949) *March 10 – Dave Allen, Irish comedian (b. 1936) *March 13 – Lyn Collins, American soul singer (b. 1948) *March 17 – George F. Kennan, American diplomat and political advisor (b. 1904) *March 19 – John Z. DeLorean, American car maker (b.1925) *March 21 – Bobby Short, American entertainer (b. 1924) *March 22 **Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, Spanish spiritual leader (b. 1946) **Kenzō Tange, Japanese architect (b. 1913) *March 26 – James Callaghan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1912) *March 28 – Pál Losonczi, former Hungarian leader (b. 1919) *March 29 – Johnnie Cochran, American lawyer (b. 1937) *March 30 – Fred Korematsu, American civil rights activist (b. 1919) *March 31 **Terri Schiavo, American right-to-die cause célèbre (b. 1963) **Justiniano Montano, Filipino politician (b. 1905) April Pope John Paul IIRainier III, Prince of Monaco*April 1 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and ambassador (b. 1925) *April 2 – Pope John Paul II (b. 1920) *April 5 **John Sichel, British film and television director (b. 1937) **Saul Bellow, American writer (b. 1915) *April 6 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923) *April 19 – Ruth Hussey, American actress (b. 1911) *April 20 – Zygfryd Blaut, Polish footballer (b. 1943) *April 22 – Norman Bird, British actor (b. 1920) *April 23 – John Mills, English actor (b. 1908) *April 24 – Ezer Weizman, former President of Israel (b. 1924) *April 26 **Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919) **Maria Schell, Austrian actress (b. 1926) May Eddie Albert*May 2 – Wee Kim Wee, President of Singapore (b. 1915) *May 7 – Peter Wallace Rodino, American politician (b. 1909) *May 8 – Lloyd Cutler, American attorney and Presidential advisor (b. 1917) *May 13 – George Dantzig, American mathematician (b. 1914) *May 14 – Jimmy Martin, American musician (b. 1927) *May 21 – Howard Morris, American actor (b. 1919) *May 22 – Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor (b. 1914) *May 25 **Robert Jankel, British coachbuilder (b. 1938) **Ismail Merchant, Indian film producer (b. 1936) **Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter (b. 1909) *May 26 – Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906) June Cardinal Jaime Sin*June 4 – Ronald F. Marryott, American admiral (b. 1934) *June 6 **Maurice Rabb, Jr., American ophthalmologist (b. 1932) **Anne Bancroft, American actress (b. 1931) *June 13 **Jonathan Adams, British actor (b. 1931) **Álvaro Cunhal, Portuguese politician (b. 1913) *June 21 – Jaime Sin, Archbishop of Manila (b. 1928) *June 25 **John Fiedler, American actor (b. 1925) **Domino Harvey, British born bounty hunter (b. 1969) July Edward Heath*July 1 – Luther Vandross, American R&B singer (b. 1951) *July 5 – James Stockdale, American admiral and vice presidential candidate (b. 1923) *July 6 – Evan Hunter A.K.A. Ed McBain, American crime writer (b. 1926) *July 17 – Edward Heath, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916) *July 18 – William Westmoreland, U.S. general (b. 1914) *July 19 – John Tyndall, British activist (b. 1934) *July 20 – James Doohan, Canadian actor (b. 1920) *July 21 **Long John Baldry, British musician (b. 1941) **Alfred Hayes, English wrestling announcer (b. 1928) *July 23 – Myron Floren, American accordionist & musician (b. 1919) *July 26 – Jack Hirshleifer, American economist (b. 1925) *July 31 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch president of the European Central Bank (b. 1935) August Fahd of Saudi ArabiaPeter Jennings*August 1 – King Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1921) *August 3 – Joseph Rotblat, Polish-born British-naturalised physicist (b. 1908) *August 6 – Robin Cook, British politician (b. 1946) *August 7 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-American news anchor (b. 1938) *August 8 **Ahmed Deedat, South African preacher (b. 1918) **John H. Johnson, American businessman and publisher. (b. 1918) *August 9 – Matthew McGrory, American actor (b. 1973) *August 12 – Lakshman Kadirgamar, foreign minister of Sri Lanka (assassinated) (b. 1932) *August 13 – David Lange, former Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1942) *August 16 **Brother Roger, Swiss founder of the Taizé Community (b. 1915) **Joe Ranft, American animator, director and magician (b. 1960) *August 19 – Mo Mowlam, British politician (b. 1949) *August 21 – Dahlia Ravikovitch, Israeli poet (b. 1936) *August 22 – Luc Ferrari, French composer (b. 1929) September William RehnquistRobert Wise*September 3 – William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1924) *September 10 – Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, American musician (b. 1924) *September 14 – Robert Wise, American film director (b. 1914) *September 17 – Alfred Reed, American composer and conductor (b. 1921) *September 18 **Michael Park, English Rally driver (b. 1966) **Clint C. Wilson, Sr., American cartoonist (b. 1914) *September 20 – Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter (b. 1908) *September 23 – Roger Brierley, English actor (b. 1935) *September 25 – Don Adams, American actor (b. 1923) *September 26 – Jerry Juhl, American writer (b. 1938) *September 27 – Ronald Golias, Brazilian actor and comedian (b. 1929) October Milton OboteRosa Parks*October 2 – Nipsey Russell, American actor and game show personality (b. 1918) *October 3 – Ronnie Barker, British comic actor (b. 1929) *October 10 – Milton Obote, President of Uganda (b. 1925) *October 17 – Ba Jin, Chinese writer (b. 1904) *October 22 – Arman, French-American artist (b. 1928) *October 24 **Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (b. 1913) **José Azcona del Hoyo, President of Honduras (b. 1926) **Robert Sloman, English writer (b. 1926) *October 28 – Richard Smalley, American chemist and physicist (b. 1943) November Eddie GuerreroPat Morita*November 1 – Michael Piller, American screenwriter and producer (Star Trek) (b. 1948) *November 2 **Ferruccio Valcareggi, Italian football player and manager (b. 1919) **Jean Carson, American actress (b. 1923) *November 5 – John Fowles, English novelist (b. 1926) *November 9 – K. R. Narayanan, former President of India (b. 1921) *November 11 **Moustapha Akkad, Syrian-American film producer (b. 1930) **Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield, British photographer (b. 1939) *November 12 – Arthur K. Cebrowski, American admiral (b. 1942) *November 13 – Eddie Guerrero, Mexican-American professional wrestler (b. 1967) *November 19 – Erik Balling, Danish television and film director (b. 1924) *November 20 – Chris Whitley, American musician (b. 1945) *November 24 – Pat Morita, American actor (b. 1932) *November 25 **George Best, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1946) **Richard Burns, English rally driver (b. 1971) *November 26 – Takanori Arisawa, Japanese composer (b. 1951) *November 28 – Tony Meehan, English drummer (The Shadows) (b. 1943) December Richard Pryor*December 1 – Mary Hayley Bell (Lady Mary Mills), English actress and writer (b. 1911) *December 2 **Mohammed Hamza Zubeidi, former prime minister of Iraq (b. 1938) **Nguyen Tuong Van, Vietnamese-Australian drug trafficker and capital punishment cause célèbre (b. 1980) *December 6 – Devan Nair, President of Singapore (b. 1923) *December 10 – Richard Pryor, American comedian (b. 1940) *December 12 – Ramanand Sagar, Indian film director (b. 1917) *December 13 – Stanley Williams, American gang founder (b. 1953) *December 16 – John Spencer, American actor (b. 1946) *December 18 – Alan Voorhees, American engineer and urban planner (b. 1922) *December 19 – Vincent Gigante, New York City mafia boss (b. 1928) *December 21 – William C. Rodgers, American arsonist (b. unknown) *December 23 – Yao Wenyuan, Chinese politician (b. 1931) *December 25 **Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano (b. 1918) **Charles Socarides, American psychiatrist (b. 1922) *December 26 **Kerry Packer, Australian media tycoon (b. 1937) **Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (b. 1948) *December 28 – Patrick Cranshaw, American actor (b.1919) *December 29 – Gerda Boyesen, Norwegian-born body psychotherapist (b. 1922) Nobel Prizes *Physics – Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall, and Theodor W. Hänsch *Chemistry – Robert Grubbs, Richard Schrock, and Yves Chauvin *Physiology or Medicine – Robin Warren, and Barry Marshall *Literature – Harold Pinter *Peace – Mohamed ElBaradei *Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel – Robert J. Aumann, and Thomas Schelling In fiction References Categories Category:2005